Tuesday 11 June 2013

Cheeky Monkey

Oh hello gorgeous people! How are you all?
I was very sneaky this week and managed to squeeze in a little crafty time. 
Having little moments of creative "me time" has been rare recently, I've just had too much going on. However as soon as I saw the opportunity, I squeezed in a little time for some creative chaos. This fun little project turned out to be not only a creative outlet for me, but also a fun work related task I could tick off of my list of "things to do"!  

Having been rehearsing with the new Tarzan cast members for the last six weeks, we had reached premiere date. An exciting evening when all of the new cast members go onstage for the first time. I couldn't let them go onstage without a little good luck token. 

I made a quick dash to the craft store one morning before our final rehearsals and bought myself a lovely stash of "super fluffy" modelling clay.


I bought a variety of colours. Colours that I felt would work well with a Tarzan/jungle theme.
That evening I got to work playing with this fun material, creating some cute little tokens to give to my new colleagues.


It was a lot of fun fiddling around with this clay. It reminded me of playing with plasticine as a child....Oh the memories! 



Rolling clay balls to be squished into faces.



Adding little button noses.


And making monkey ears by the dozen.



It was a joy forming these little lumps of clay into something magical. Slowly building layers of personality to each individual charm.


My favourite part was styling chunky over the top features. I was in pure creative heaven!


I used finishing touches of good ol' googly eyes and a plastic daisy here and there.


Shall I show you what I came up with?...



It's the whole jungle crew! We have apes, Jane, Tarzan and Professor Porter!
I was so thrilled with how they turned out! Cute, quirky and fun!

The modelling clay was so easy to work with. It formed easy shapes and the googly eyes stuck no problem with a little blob of glue from my glue gun.

Here's how I formed the cheeky faces of the monkeys:








Easy!! I added some extra detail by poking nostrils and a little mouth with the help of the pointy end of my compass.


How fun are they!?!


The great thing about this modelling clay is that it air dries firm. It meant I could leave all of my creations overnight and they were hard enough by the morning to add any finishing touches.

Using a very pointed darning needle I made holes in each of the firm faces and threaded some jungle inspired embroidery floss through each of them.
Of course I had to add a little extra crafty touch of beads and bells, just to finish them off!

All done....placed in a box and ready to give as a lucky charm and a warm welcome to all of the new Tarzan cast members.


Of course I kept one for myself! A little something to hang on my dressing table at work to remind me of how much I love being a crafty monkey!


Make your week creative and crafty!!!!! Until next time......

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49 comments:

  1. Those are awesome - think I'm going to try them! Hope your cast members love them :D

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  2. Love the monkeys :D Good luck with Tarzan, my SIL brothers is also in the show and my SIL's family and my brother will be traveling over from the UK in August to see it, they are very excited. :D

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  3. Wow, they're really cute! Good luck with the show.

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  4. They are lovely and I hope they were well received!

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  5. How cute! Your so sweet and thoughtful! I bet everyone will love them! Break a leg!

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  6. Have a blast with your show! I bet everyone will love the gifts, they are so adorable!

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  7. So awesome! I love them all! but of course the monkeys are super! You are so talented - you make everything look sooooooo easy!

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  8. These are so cute and very sweet of you to make them...

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  9. What a sweet thing for you to do. So talented. I know each and every cast member will cherish your cute good luck charms. Have a great show.

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  10. Absolutely adorable! Hope the production is a hit and break a leg. :)

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  11. Super cute!! I especially like the monkeys :)

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  12. They are brilliant Matt. What a wonderful kind gesture on your part

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  13. There are brilliant Matt and what a kind gesture on your part

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  14. Hi Matt - just discovered you blog - fabulous!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  15. Very cute. Lovely to read one of your posts again.

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  16. Oh they really are something else - LOVE the monkeys - so cheeky - what fantastic expressions! Well done Matt!
    Joy

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  17. What a lovely gesture and beatifully made :-)

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  18. Great idea and super cute too!

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  19. Those are so cute!! I am sure your cast will definitely appreciate such a thoughtful handmade gift. Anything with googly eyes is so much fun, in my book!

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  20. Oh.....you are the best!!!!! Saw you in the blogging mag!!!! Wow!!!! You are a superstar!!!!
    Have fun!!!

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  21. How cute - I love monkeys!!! I wish I had one! :-D
    Maria x

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  22. Yet another talent! And it shows how much you love your work....and your colleagues! Enjoy the shows!

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  23. Soooooo cute! I love the monkey faces :-)

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  24. You sound like the best co-worker EVER. Your little creations are completely adorable.

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  25. Hola Matt!! ya te echaba de menos!! cuanta creatividad! eres un artista, me encantaron los monitos!! saludos

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  26. The monkeys and the other faces are so cute! Such a fun project.

    Nancy

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  27. These are so cute!
    I made Monkey beads with glass (lampwork), but I really like these, thanks for sharing.

    Patricia @ Original Cocobeads

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  28. Where did you get the clay? I have never heard of it. It would be great for the kids to make beads and such.

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  29. Those are amazing! I love them ^_^
    xox

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  30. These are just delightful - what a great friend and colleague you are.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  31. Those are so awesome and I hadn't seen that product used b4 so thanks for the great photo tutorial. That was really so thoughtful!

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  32. Wooow! They look awesome and made me laugh :)

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  33. those are adorable!! and gives me another craft idea to do with my boys this summer!

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  34. how kind,clever and thoughtful..good luck with the new show

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  35. Guauuuuuuuuuuu...son hermosos!

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  36. Hi Matt ... I just discovered your blog through the "Artful Blogging" magazine! First, congrats! Second, what I treat for me! What a wonderful blog to have come across. I, too, enjoy being crafty and like to crochet. Okay so I just have to find some of this Super Fluffy Clay!!!!!
    So, have fun .... keep blogging!
    Diane

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  37. Such adorable gifts! The monkey is my favorite! I had to tell you , I collect teapots, and my favorite one is of tarzan with cheetah on his shoulder (his tail is the handle!).

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  38. You are truly gifted Matt. I'm only a newbie follower of yours which is why I'm looking at a few postings back of your blog. You almost sound like an Aussie living in a different land. Are you actually in Germany and what do you do for a living, besides craft, craft, craft. It's really lovely to see the guys doing the dabble in crochet like us females. It's a breathe of fresh air, but I don't blame you - it's certainly a craft that sucks you right in. Again bravo on the beautiful clay work. I hope the cast members enjoyed them, and appreciated how much work you put into them. Good luck.

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  39. Hi Matt,
    I've enjoyed looking over your blog! We share similar crafting interests. Your 'Cheeky Monkey' post is inspiring me to pick up some clay again...used to love working with it. Loving your crochet as well, and your photos: line ups of yarn, colored pencils (very colorful) and the area you live in. Beautiful!!

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